Once pregnancy is confirmed, it is good to contact a midwife at the health care centre and book an appointment for the first consultation and examination. The appointment is usually before 12 weeks of pregnancy.
In the first consultation, the midwife records general health information as well as previous pregnancy and birth history, if applicable. You can expect the first antenatal care appointment to last up to one hour.
It is estimated that a woman pregnant with her first child will have 10 examinations and a woman who has given birth before will have 7 examinations. The number of examinations during pregnancy can vary, however, depending on the woman’s needs and the midwife’s assessment at any given time. Each antenatal care appointment usually lasts 20-30 minutes. Older siblings are welcome to join.
At each visit, the midwife discusses your general health and well-being. Blood pressure is measured and urine protein is checked. The fetal heart rate is monitored from the 16-week examination onward, and the size of the uterus from the pubic bone to the end of the uterus is measured from the 25-week examination onward. At week 36, the baby’s position in the womb is assessed.
The needs of the expectant mother/parents are assessed at each examination and education and counselling is provided as appropriate at any given time.
Antenatal care provides opportunities to discuss and ask questions about topics such as well-being, diet, exercise, screenings during pregnancy, fetal tests, services available during pregnancy, choice of birthing location, childbirth, birth control, maternity leave, breastfeeding, post-birth care and more.
There are a number of antenatal care screenings. The purpose of these screenings is to check if specific issues might affect the health of mother and baby during pregnancy. Issues screened for include anemia, hepatitis B and C, HIV, rubella and syphilis. Screening for Rhesus disease is also offered.
Ultrasounds and other foetal examinations are offered in collaboration with the Department of Foetal Diagnosis at the National Hospital.